KELDON Johnson had 29 points and 12 rebounds and Devin Vassell added 29 points as the San Antonio Spurs came back from 24 points down to beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 126-118 on Sunday afternoon (Monday in Manila).
Atlanta led by 22 points at halftime but gave most of it back in a ragged third quarter, heading to the final period up just 103-100. The Hawks were still ahead at 114-108 until San Antonio forged a 16-0 run behind six points from Zach Collins and five from Blake Wesley to move to the front at 124-114 with 1:54 to play.
Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 22 points in his return to San Antonio after being traded by the Spurs in the offseason. Onyeka Okongwu added 17 points, with Clint Capela racking up 15 points and 12 rebounds. Trae Young had just nine points on 4-of-15 shooting from the floor for Atlanta.
Atlanta went into the break with a commanding 83-61 lead, but the Spurs roared back in the third quarter behind Vassell (14 points in the period) and Johnson (12) to pull within three.
In other games, it was the Lakers 111, Magic 105; Thunder 124, Suns 120; Nuggets 108, Nets 102; Heat 112, Pistons 100; Pelicans 117, Rockets 107;Bucks 118, Raptors 111; and Clippers 117, Blazers 102.
Lakers 111, Magic 105
Austin Reaves set a career high with 35 points and D’Angelo Russell added 18 as Los Angeles ended a two-game losing streak and helped its playoff chances with a victory over visiting Orlando.
Anthony Davis finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks as the Lakers pulled even with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz at the bottom of the play-in tournament chase in the Western Conference.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner each scored 21 points and Cole Anthony added 17 as the Magic were unable to pull off a weekend sweep at Los Angeles after defeating the Clippers 113-108 on Saturday.
Thunder 124, Suns 120
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 40 points to lead host Oklahoma City to a victory over Phoenix.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s performance and the Thunder’s comeback overshadowed Devin Booker’s 46-point game. Chris Paul added 14 points and 13 assists in the loss. Phoenix led by 10 in the early moments of the fourth quarter before the Thunder turned up the heat defensively and converted at the other end. — Field Level Media
